"Giorgione is regarded as a unique figure in the history of art: almost no other Western painter has left so few secure works and enjoyed such fame..." Sylvia Ferino-Pagden.

My website, MyGiorgione, now includes my interpretations of Giorgione's "Tempest" as "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt"; his "Three Ages of Man" as "The Encounter of Jesus with the Rich Young Man"; Titian's, "Sacred and Profane Love" as "The Conversion of Mary Magdalen"; and Titian's "Pastoral Concert" as his "Homage to Giorgione".

Monday, August 11, 2014

Titian’s huge
altarpiece of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is by far the most well-known
and spectacular painting of that subject. The painting is more than 22
feet high and 11 feet wide and was
designed to fit behind the main altar of Santa Maria Gloriosa, commonly known
as the Frari, in Venice. It still dominates the Frari, then as now the
Franciscan center in Venice. It was begun in 1516 and completed in 1518 and was
a sign that Titian had become not only the premier painter in Venice but also, one
of the greatest in Europe. However, Titian was only one of many Italian masters
who turned their attention to this subject in the sixteenth century. To give
one example, a few years later Correggio painted a kind of Baroque version in
the cathedral of Parma.

Depictions
of the actual Assumption were a relatively new phenomenon in the early
sixteenth century. In earlier times artists and patrons seemed to prefer
depictions of what is known as the Dormition of Mary. This was a legendary
event that supposed that at the end of her stay on earth, Mary fell into her
last sleep. Then the Apostles were miraculously transported from their labors
all over the world to be at her bedside. They were joined by her Son who took
her soul directly to Heaven. Artists like Duccio depicted an infant that
represented the soul of Mary in the arms of Christ.*

In the
sixteenth century Titian and others would still retain the Apostles in the
scene but would show Mary as a full grown beautiful woman rising up on her own
to meet the Trinity. Her traditional red dress is a sign of her humanity, but
the blue cloak that billows around her is a sign that she has been covered or
cloaked by the Almighty. The primitive image of an infant in the arms of her Son
would be discarded.

I believe
that the change must have reflected the increased interest in the idea of the
Immaculate Conception that had been developing since the beginning of the
fifteenth century. If Mary was conceived without original sin, then Mary would
not, following the words of St. Paul, be subject to death. It was Sin that
ushered Death into the world. Therefore, the Assumption of Mary is a corollary to the Immaculate
Conception.

Significant
developments in the 15th century had brought the idea of the Immaculate
Conception to prominence by the end of the century. In the first place, the
century witnessed a continued increase in devotion to the Madonna, which
naturally led to an increased interest on the part of the populace in the
"Conception." This interest was fostered by religious orders, most
notably the Franciscans. Secondly, controversy about the doctrine between the
Franciscans and the Dominicans, the two great preaching orders, contributed to
the development of the doctrine.

This
controversy brought to a head a debate about the "Conception" which
had been going on among theologians during the previous two centuries. The
Franciscans based their support not only on the great devotion to Mary on the
part of their founder but also on the theological opinion of their great
scholar, John Duns Scotus. Although no less devoted to Mary, Dominican
theologians argued that since Christ had come to free all from sin, His own
Mother should not be excluded. Their position was based on St. Paul, the early
Church fathers, and even St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Dominican theologian,
who had expressed reservations about the doctrine.[i]

In 1438 the Council of Basel, no doubt
responding to the upsurge of devotion to Mary, affirmed the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception but only after Papal legates and others had left the
Council. Without Papal support the Council and its decrees could not become
binding on the Church. Nevertheless, the concept of the Immaculate Conception
had been given tremendous impetus, especially in France and the Iberian
peninsula. Nowhere, however, did it receive greater support than in Venice.

Rona Goffen,
in Piety and Patronage in Renaissance Venice, argued that Venice itself
became identified with the Immaculate Conception by the end of the Quattrocento.[ii]
By mid-century there were 20 churches and 300 altars dedicated to the Madonna.
By the end of the century, churches like S. Maria dei Miracoli and S. Maria
della Carita were dedicated specifically to the "Immaculata." In
1498, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Venice, and
it worshipped at the Frari's famous Pesaro altar, itself dedicated to the
Immaculate Conception.

Two great figures had a tremendous
impact on the spiritual life of Venice in the 15th century. St. Bernardino of
Siena, a Franciscan Observant, had preached in Venice before his death in 1443.
His impact must have been significant since he was made apatron saint of the Republic in
1470.Although unwilling to
embroil himself in the controversy over the doctrine, he was devoted to Mary
and known as an advocate of the Immaculate Conception. Even more importantly,
the saintly first Patriarch of Venice, Lorenzo Giustiniani, was a staunch
advocate of the doctrine. Giustiniani died in 1453 but his sermons, especially
on Marian subjects like the Annunciation and the Assumption, were well known
and circulated widely after his death. Finally, his collected sermons were
published in Venice in 1506 by which time he had come to enjoy almost beatified
status. Referring to the sermons of these two giants Rona Goffen noted,

In these and
other similar passages, Bernardino and Giustiniani declared their belief in the
Immaculacy of the Madonna. Their influence on Venetian piety must have
been as pervasive during the Renaissance as it is difficult today to gauge in any
precise way. Nonetheless, their thoughts and writings constitute part--a very important
part--of the original context of sacred art in Renaissance Venice. One must
attempt to reconstruct that context in the historically informed imagination.[iii]

The Papacy
also played a role. Francesco della Rovere, the Vicar-General of the Franciscan
order and a leading Franciscan scholar was elected Pope Sixtus IV in 1471. In
the previous year he had written a treatise on the Immaculate Conception in
which he had tried to reconcile the differing opinions of supporters and opponents.
In 1476 he responded to increased rancor among the contending orders with a
Bull calling for an end to the controversy. Subsequently, he added the feast of
the Immaculate Conception to the liturgy for the entire Western Church, and
ordered new offices to be composed for the Feast. One was even composed
especially for Franciscan use. Nevertheless, the controversy continued and both
sides intensified their efforts, especially in Venice where the Frari, became a
virtual shrine to Mary's Immaculate Conception.

Even though
Marian beliefs like the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are little
understood and even mis-understood today by both believers and non-believers,
students of the Renaissance must try to understand their importance in Italy
and elsewhere on the eve of the Protestant reformation. Otherwise, it would be
hard to understand the animus of Protestant reformers to Marian shrines and
devotions. ###

* For the Dormition of Mary see the nice discussion at art-threads.co.uk in the section entitled Life of the Virgin[i] For a
comprehensive discussion of the doctrine and the controversy surrounding it see
The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, History and Significance,
ed. Edward Dennis O’Connor, University of Notre Dame Press, 1958, c. VI. See
also the article on the Immaculate Conception in “The Catholic Encyclopedia,”
1910.